


The Greatest Trick

by moromi



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gangsters, Alternate Universe - Mob, Detective Noir, Doubt, Evil, Explosions, Gen, M/M, Murder, Neo-Noir
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-08-31
Updated: 2012-08-31
Packaged: 2017-11-13 06:17:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/500411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moromi/pseuds/moromi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"It's the devil who pulls the strings that make us dance" - Charles Baudelaire</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Greatest Trick

**3:30 a.m.**

Sheets rustle as a phone rings in the dead of the night. Someone grumbles under the duvet, lazy and indignant to answer the call.  

"Oi, Tetsu." Aomine calls in a muffled voice, stretching his hand to his side, hoping to shove his partner to wake -- only, no one is there. 

Bleary eyes open to see the digits of the clock and the empty space beside him. For once he questions if anything did happen that night. As he pulls his hand back towards him, he feels the impression of his company on the mattress -- heavy to the sheets, warm to his touch. Only then he figures that he isn't dreaming. But then so much of this evening is like a dream. 

The phone continues to ring as he pulls himself up, feeling a slight chill at the small of his back as he slides out naked from his bed. He rubs his arms to stop himself from shivering, ignoring the blaring sound of his phone as he calls his partner's name. Still, no one answers. 

He walks around his dark apartment; his shape, weary and tired. Aomine hates the night. He hates the dark. The shadows. The heavy air that chokes him. The silence that deafens him. 

His only refuge tonight is that stupid phone ringing, still echoing in his room even when it's past the point where the other line should have gotten the fact that he doesn't give a fuck. If that hadn't rung, he won't bother to wake and realize he's alone. Again. 

Aomine heads back to his bedside and takes the phone to his ear, cradling it on his shoulder as he taps a fag out of his pack. "What?" 

"Detective Aomine?" He grunts to the question as he fiddles with his lighter and cigarette. "S-s-sorry to disturb you tonight." Sakurai sure has too much nerves to be a detective, or a cop, for that matter. Aomine takes a cigarette to his lip as he listens to his colleague stutter. "We've got a situation." The only thing he hears clearly from the other end. 

"They're all dead, detective. Everyone one of them." And by those words, Aomine knows what he means. 

"I'll see you in fifteen." Aomine flicks his cigarette away before he even lit it. 

 

 

 

**5:15 a.m.**

One can't tell whether the air around the docks is fog or smoke. Firetrucks surround the fifth warehouse, hoping to contain the fire that still bellows. It's been hours since these cops arrived. Many of them fear that there's little or no evidence left for them to forage and at this rate, this might just be the perfect clean up. 

It hasn't been long since Aomine arrived at the crime scene. He stands by his car, past the police line as he watches the chaos through the smoke. Strange how all of this makes sense to him. He can imagine what may have transpired here but at this rate, he's not gonna push himself to save someone's mess. He's not that kind to save others. 

He reaches for his cigarette case in his pocket, taking a stick before lifting it to his lip. It hangs by the corner of his mouth as he lights it with a flick of his zippo, taking in the flavors of wood and steel with the tar and tobacco. It's been a long night, and he fears this'll take much longer. As he blows to add more smoke to the air, Wakamatsu comes in irritated. 

"You're late." He scoffs before leaning back on Aomine's car, taking a cigarette for himself. 

"It won't make a difference if I came in any earlier." 

"Tch. Would have saved us the trouble of stopping Sakurai from panicking." Aomine turns to Wakamatsu, a retort away from a chuckle. 

"Didn't I tell you a kiss'll make everything better?" Wakamatsu's eyes widen at the detective's remark. 

"Shut up!" 

"Whatever." Aomine smirks as he raises his collar to keep himself from the cold -- another thing he hated about evenings. This particular evening has been hitting all the wrong notes and right now, he's got a gut feeling that this night does not bode well. 

"Since you're here, I might as well brief you on the situation." Imayoshi arrives, cleaning his glasses with a gray handkerchief. Aomine wonders if that handkerchief had been white once and this madness had just turned it into a dirt rag. If anything, his disregard of this chaos is telling of Imayoshi's character. Aomine has never seen the man waver or break at the sight of anything or nothing. The bastard's a little like him, doing whatever he fucking wants. 

Aomine lights up another cigarette as Imayoshi briefs him. "The first explosion was reported at 1:47 a.m. by residents from nearby apartments. Police were first to arrive at the scene around 2:15. By then, the parked vehicles around the area have exploded but we managed to tally some of the license plates. Ran them in the database and they were owned by members of the Chinese triad, Russian mafia, and two individuals." Imayoshi hands his notes to Aomine with scribbles of the plates. On it were two combinations encircled. One had a scribble of Seijuro Akashi on top. The other was Ryouta Kise. 

"The model?" Aomine asks, tapping the note on Kise. 

"Sorta." Wakamatsu answers as he crosses the police line to greet the fireman coming their way. "He's long retired from the modeling circuit. He got into some bad debt and has been doing some shady host club gigs since." Wakamatsu disappears into the fog while Aomine looks back at the list to see any other familiar name. He knew Seijuro Akashi well. In fact, his unit has been tracking his whereabouts for a long time. Akashi was the city's King Pin, controlling every underground activity: guns, drugs, prostitution, and every other illegal trade. Nothing is beyond Akashi who knew nothing but winning. His closest taste of defeat came when they almost caught him a few years back. Even then, it cost the force too much lives to pin just one man down. One cop even lost his badge. 

The smoke is slowly clearing and only a few firetrucks remain to contain the last of the draft. Aomine leaps off his car, with Imayoshi following suit. While Wakamatsu fights a fireman for clearance to investigate, Aomine walks around, scouting the place for anything or something that may catch his fancy. 

"We've got a witness." Aomine looks back to Imayoshi who proceeds to detail the case. "He's unidentified with third degree burns. Can't speak or say anything earlier but paramedics say he's alive. He's been sent to the nearest hospital for emergency care. We have Yoshinori on detail to watch over him." 

"You can't expect a toast zombie to say much." Aomine says smugly as he walks behind the firemen who were still hosing the last of flames at the entrance.

"Something's better than nothing, Aomine." Imayoshi retorts. "We can't let another perp go with your sloppy detective work." Imayoshi leaves him with an arrogant smirk. It's hard to say if his colleague gives a fuck or he lives by seeing him suffer. 

Aomine takes it as his cue to move away from the group. The fire's going down but the firemen haven't given the signal for worry of backdraft. That's fine. He's got other places to look. He walks towards the eastern side of the warehouse, closer to docks to see the cars lined up, bare, others upside down, burnt to their frames. Whoever planned this fire was a true pyromaniac. The man surely had a plan in blowing this place up. 

He can hear the waters from the trucks gush through the roof, leaving this annoying creaks that left him irritated as he continues his investigation. He comes closer to the cars and he can smell intense scent of gasoline, a lot more than one should expect in a usual car explosion. Is this a con job? A trap? Whatever it was, it should have done what it should have. If Sakurai was right, this only meant the death of Akashi. 

Just as he turns for the back of the warehouse, a group of firemen comes running out. They carry with them three bodies on separate stretchers. The first must have been that of a giant, its charred limbs limp over the gurney, making the firemen adjust its weight once in a while, preventing the body from tipping over. The other is slimmer and he manages to see a hint of blonde to one side of the face. The last is like a miracle, almost unscathed by the fire if not for the small singe at the lower right hem of his kimono. Its face is shattered by a bullet to the head, hollowed by the shot leaving only his bright red hair as his most distinct characterstic.  

"Where'd you find him?" Aomine asks one of the firemen who immediately points to a door at the side of the warehouse. 

Aomine walks opposite them as they exit, seeing the full wrath of the fire. With water leaking from every open space, it'll be a mess to find any traces of gun powder, gasoline, or whatever explosive was used for the fire. He grabs a handkerchief to cover his nose, the inside reeking of burnt flesh. Hard to imagine anyone surviving in this fire. It's a mystery how Akashi looked unscathed. 

He opens the door to the office, surprised to see Sakurai and a fireman inside. 

"A-A-A-Aomine-san!" Sakurai cries as he clutches on to a body covered by a blanket. The body immediately stirs at the mention of his name -- a hand tugs free of the blanket while an arm reaches and clutches around Aomine's waist. Its breath is nervous, its fist shaking over his coat. Sakurai and the fireman look at Aomine with great surprise. On the other hand, he can simply hold on the man who clung to him, tucking its head to his chest. 

"Tetsu." 

 

 

 

**9:27 a.m.**

"You know him?" Chief Inspector Harasawa asks behind the one way mirror. Aomine wishes there was an easier way to explain the situation. But for something as grave as this, a lie will be difficult to muster. 

"He's my old partner." Harasawa crosses his arm at his reply, rubbing his chin as he watches Kuroko sit still in the interrogation room. 

"So, he's a cop." 

"He  _was_  a cop." Aomine corrects Harasawa who leans back to the wall, expecting more from the detective. "He lost his badge during that failed bust of Seijuro Akashi."  Aomine answers, gritting his teeth in between words. 

"So he knows Akashi?" Harasawa asks. 

"By association with his arrest." Aomine corrects once more. 

"You wouldn't think they're allies, right?" 

"I doubt it." Aomine curtly replies.

Harasawa paces around the room, his heels clicking to a steady rhythm as he studies the man sitting in the interrogation room. 

"You know of his current whereabouts?" 

"I hear he's a kindergarten teacher." 

"Any idea why he's in that warehouse?" By now Harasawa's eyes are fixed on Aomine. The detective looks back, knowing it's his boss's way of reading people. Without any hesitation, Aomine answers, with a clear tone and vindiction. 

"No, sir." 

Harasawa keeps his gaze for a few seconds before bursting into a laugh. "And here I thought you knew everything, Aomine-kun." He contains himself to a chuckle a little later, straightening his coat before leaning on the one way mirror. 

"Mayor wants this case cleared up before any of Akashi's men catches wind of this. This brat's got his lawyers and they're ready to bail him in a few hours. He refuses to talk anyone until he receives full immunity." Aomine can still sense Harasawa's gaze at him. "The mayor's said yes but do you think we should give it to him?" 

"He might be a substantial witness." Aomine suggests. 

"A kindergarten teacher as a substantial witness? You might as well get a fly to tell everything." Harasawa contests. 

Aomine doesn't like where this conversation is heading. He knows too well how sly Harasawa can get and much like every other cop in this precinct, he too will do anything to close this -- even if it means baiting a comrade. 

Aomine keeps quiet and unmoving, refraining to show any hint of care or connection that may possibly compromise his position. He's not out to save anyone but unlike the last time, he intends to save Kuroko. 

"I'll give him the benefit of the doubt that he used to be a cop," says Harasawa.

"He said he'll only give his statement to you. In private. Without the cameras." That doesn't come as a surprise to Aomine, considering the other nature of their relationship. 

"You know that old saying, 'Don't judge a book by it's cover'," Harasawa turns back to look Kuroko who still remained silent. "Do you think you're ready to know the real him?" 

Aomine doesn't answer. 

Harasawa sighs and hands a folder to Aomine. "Get his statement." Aomine takes the folder and checks the documents contained in it. There were notes on two underground families, profiles of key people, and records of transactions that has transpired. "I know you and Sakurai have been on the tails of Akashi Seijuro for years. You didn't take that foiled arrest easy and given the leads you've investigated, this is our best bet. Take note of any name he reveals and any actions they may have done." His chief looks back to the interrogation room, "I've got a feeling we've got something bigger in our hands." 

Page after page, Aomine examines the files handed down to him. Tip-offs, triads, bosses, prostitutes and finally, Seijuro Akashi. He stares at the picture of the red head, his face as familiar as the day he first met him. 

"So he goes free after his statement?" Aomine asks, his eyes set on his chief. 

"As long as we have it." Harasawa turns towards him as he heads toward the door. 

"And if I don't get it?" 

"Then he's as good as the criminal." The chief exits the room, leaving Aomine alone, watching the back of his former partner. 

 

 

 

**11:00 a.m.**

Kuroko sits quietly across Aomine, sipping his tea quietly while looking around the detective's office with wide empty eyes. A map and a corkboard hangs behind his desk. Countless pictures are stuck on the corkboard by colored tacks, giving anyone in the room a sense of what preoccupies the detective.  

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Kuroko murmurs over his tea, blowing a bit of the steam towards Aomine. 

The detective sits on his desk, arms crossed, as he looks down on Kuroko who breathes a satisfied sigh after a long sip of tea. 

Where should he start? How should he start? 

Too many questions riddle Aomine's mind that he finds it particularly difficult to ask the first question. He takes his recorder from his pocket, pressing the record button as he places it on the table. He cites the date, the case, and the name of his witness in an almost surgical tone. Once that's done, he reminds Kuroko his rights and to speak of nothing but the truth. 

"Of course." He catches Kuroko looking at him, his eyes clear of any emotion -- not even worry or fear. 

With his hands propping him, Aomine leans back on his desk, looking at the file over his shoulder to remind himself why he is here and with this person. 

"So tell me, where should this story begin?" Aomine takes a puff of his cigarette, watching Kuroko's lip curl to a strange nervous smile. 

 

_\- o -_

_I can't say that this is something recent. I'd like to think that this was planned far longer than I have been involved with it. I hontestly can't say._

_What I can say is that it started one afternoon, while I was cleaning the playground at the kindergarten. Kise-kun -- you know Kise, right? We used to play basketball in Teikou, didn't we? Well, he stopped by the kindergarten, to catch up on things and such._

_To be honest, he looked worse for wear. His skin was unbelievably pale. His eyes tired. His lips chapped. When he arrived, he was wearing some tacky clothes and had ridiculuous hair.  Of course, there's nothing new about that. I thought it was just one of his modeling stints. However, as soon as we had dinner, I realized, Kise-kun was truly a sad man._

_I think I've never seen a sadder man before. He no longer looked human._

_The only thing he could order that evening was a plate of gyoza. "I'm on a diet, Kurokocchi," he mustered to say behind a half-hearted laugh. I tried treating him for dinner but he simply picked off mine when it wasn't enough._

_The first few dates-_

_\- o -_

 

"Dates?" Aomine feels a nerve pop at the mention of the word. 

"Dates. Meetings. Meet-ups. It's just a convenient word." Kuroko nonchalantly replies before taking a sip of his tea. "Didn't think it would matter." 

Aomine catches Kuroko's gaze and admits to himself that it actually mattered to him. While it is painful to see that empty loook, thinking that Kuroko had gone on these  _dates_  that eventually lead him to this made him angrier than usual. Kuroko's not the kind of man who'd get involved in these kinds of things. He was an honest man. 

"Can I continue?" Kuroko asks as he places the empty tea cup on the table. 

"Of course." 

 

_\- o -_

_We went out for a while. And he told me about his excessive life as a model. I was never really interested in those kinds of things and just listened to him ramble. A part of me thinks its my retribution for my past misgivings. Although, it was never a problem for me if it meant helping a friend._

_It seems some bad decisions made Kise-kun go under. Women, mostly. And a bit of drugs. He got into big debts and so he worked as a host to foot the bill. It's depressing to hear his story, especially when we still remember our vivid dreams. You wanted to be in the NBA. He wanted to be a supermodel. I just wanted a peaceful life._

_I took him in like a charity case, perhaps reparation for my old mistakes. We ate. We talked. Little by little, the sadness in his face faded. So it was nice when he came to the kindergarten, three or four months ago with a brightest smile._

_"Kurokocchi," he shouted, waving his arms around like a child. "My luck's back!"_

_I honestly didn't know what he meant, but to celebrate we went out for drinks that night._

_He said he had a gig with the old guys-_

_\- o -_

 

"Old guys?" 

"You know them too, Aomine-kun." Kuroko turns his fist and begins to count with his fingers. "Murasakibara, Midorima, and Akashi." 

Aomine doesn't like how those names rang in his ears. Old guys. Old friends. He's got nothing to do with them. Especially Akashi. 

"And you just said yes knowing they're involved?" Aomine raises a brow at his question. Kuroko should have known better than get himself involved with those guys. However-- 

"I can't see a friend go into ruin." Somehow, Aomine also expected him to say that. 

 

_\- o -_

_Kise-kun said it was just a short hit. A drug bust in the city. 40 kilos of cocaine. That's some good hard cash and he said it was more than enough to get his debts paid and start anew. I tried to convince him to not get himself involved but he was desperate. He said it was his only way out. And he needed my help._

_I don't know about Midorima or Murasakibara. They must have had their own reasons too._

_I'd like to think it's because Midorima and Murasakibara will do anything Akashi says. Then again, it always has been like that when we were young. Because we knew he'd win, we did everything he said._

_That night, Kise-kun told me to meet him at a diner. Midorima and Kise were already there when I arrived. Murasakibara came much later. At first, Kise tried kid around and talk about his women. Before everyone was even there, Midorima already laid out the plans for the heist._

_The plan was to steal a good number of drugs from this Triad who was flying in from Hong Kong on the 15th. We'll pick him up from the airport, pretend to be in his security detail and grab the drugs and dispose of him. It sounded like a clean deal._

_\- o -_

 

It sounded far from clean to Aomine. Since when does busting someone's drug deal become a clean deal? Aomine kindles a mild hatred for Kise for putting Kuroko into this mess. But he'll leave that for another day. When he finds out where Kise is.  

"And you went along with it?" 

"Well..." Kuroko pauses, averting his gaze towards the floor. "When you know so much, how else can you walk away?" Aomine gritted his teeth upon hearing Kuroko's reply. He knows too damn well how this guy just never gives up. 

"Besides, Kise-kun needed help." Of course. In the end, it was all about teamwork. If Kuroko was willing to lose his badge, for Aomine, then it should be no surprise how he'd break the laws for Kise. 

The phone in Aomine's desk rings and he excuses himself from their conversation. 

"Have you eaten anything, Tetsu?" The man shakes his head. "I've got donuts on that desk. You can have some." Kuroko nods and heads for the desk quietly while Aomine takes his call. 

_Aomine. It's Yoshimitsu._

Aomine takes this time to sit on his chair, keeping an eye on Kuroko who is biding his time to choose a donut. "Any word?" 

_Well, it seems our burnt witness managed to survive. He's out of critical but it'll take some time before the anesthesia wears off._

"Any name on the vic?" 

_None yet. We managed to get prints despite the burn and we sent it off to Sakurai to check. This nutcase managed to protect his print by taping his hand. Funny guy._

Aomine hears a shuffle from Yoshimitsu's end while in his room he sees that Kuroko chose a simple honey glazed donut. 

_Anyway,I'll let you know if something's up. How's the other witness coming?_

"Great." 

_Hahahaha. Don't let yourself be fooled by that one._

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Kuroko looks at him, noting his sudden outburst. 

_Make sure all your bases are covered_. 

Yoshimitsu drops the line.

Aomine looks back at his company, wondering if everything is under control. 

"Where was Akashi in all of this?" He asks, noting how Kuroko fingers shook upon the mention of the name. It's the first time in this interview that Kuroko looked scared. 

"Someone once said that the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist." Kuroko inhales, easing his nerves for a while bit. "Do you believe that, Aomine-kun?" 

"I don't believe in anything but myself." Aomine replies. 

"But you believe everything I say in this room, don't you?" 

Aomine likes to think that Kuroko's an exception to the rule. 

 

_-o-_

_Akashi never attended in any of our meetings prior to the heist. Midorima often relayed Akashi's messages but he never was physically there. He didn't make himself present and as Kise and I tried to fish some information about the triads, what we chiefly heard were merely stories, maybe myths, on what Akashi has done._

_Didn't you ever wonder where Akashi came from? We knew him from school but we never saw his home or his family. We knew he's got money. He liked shogi. He played basketball with us. And he always won._

_Beyond that, we knew nothing._

_One night, Kise and I tried to hang around in this club where people in the Triad's security detail frequent. After a good laugh and drinks, this guy named Haizaki flipped out upon the mention of the name Akashi._

_You know what he said? The man's the devil._

_When he was eight, he killed his entire family to gain control of their business. He did it on obon, while the family was gathered around their backyard, lighting their lanterns. Haizaki said it was triggered by an argument with his father who refused to recognize him because he was small. He slit his mother's throat, gouged his brother's eyes, and cut his father's legs with their family sword. Nobody reported a cry or shout. It was silent in Akashi's home._

_Kise laughed at the entire story. He said it was impossible. But then remember his eyes, back when we were playing? Akashi can read all our movements before we can even do them. And he can cut our movements before we can even move a muscle._

_It was no surprise to me. I... know first hand what it's like to be watched with those eyes._

_-o-_

 

Kuroko stands silent by table, fighting a twitch in his fingers. Aomine comes to him, takes his hand and pulls him close. 

He too has been under the scrutiny of those eyes but that was too long ago and only within the confines of their game. The next time he saw Akashi was at his arrest. And even he wasn't there to see him up close. But he knew Kuroko was. 

"Do you want to stop for lunch?" 

"Yeah." 

 

 

 

**2:35 p.m.**  

Aomine returns to the department with Kuroko trailing right behind him, his head down low. 

He sees Sakurai peeking into his office before beelining back to his desk. 

"Tetsu. Why don't you head back into the office." Kuroko nods and follows Aomine's instruction. On the other hand, the detective heads straight to his colleague's desk. 

"Got something new for me?" asks Aomine, towering over the surprised Sakurai. The young man pulls out some folders and hands it to Aomine. 

"Sorry if I found these late, but here are the files on the bodies we found." There were over 50 folders, and knowing Sakurai, it's no surprise that he found most of them. 

"Have all the bodies been identified?" Sakurai nods. "Almost," he replies. He leafs through the folders and pulls out the file of Akashi Seijuro. "We're still waiting for a match." 

Aomine looks at Sakurai with a raised brow. "You mean he hasn't been identified yet?" If he remembers that body, it looked untouched apart from its blown up face. 

"Well, there seems to be trouble with identifying him." 

"Don't we have records of him?" 

"We do, but somehow the fingerprints never match. There are over 500 Akashi Seijuros in the database and none of them match. I'm sorry, Aomine! I promise to investigate this further!" Sakurai bows low before him. 

Aomine only remembers what Kuroko said. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled. 

"What about the other bodies?" He tries to put the thought behind him, keeping note of the other names Kuroko mentioned. 

"Well, the ones we've been trailing are all dead. Burned. Asphyxiation. Shot." Sakurai answers, his head still down. 

Aomine leafs over the familiar faces of his old teammates. Kise Ryota: shot and burned. Murasakibara: burned. 

The only name he couldn't find was that of Midorima's. He grabs his phone in his pocket, dialing Yoshimitsu's number right away. 

_Hello?_

"Didn't you say that the guy in the hospital tapes his fingers." 

_Yeah. We ran his prints but Sakurai says he's off the record. We're trying to find other ways to ID him._

"You don't need to. I've got his name." 

_Really? You know this guy?_

"He's Shintarou Midorima." 

 

 

 

**3:15 p.m.**

When Aomine opens his door, he can't find Tetsu anywhere. He panics, eyeing every corner of his office. 

"Tetsu!" 

"Yes?"

Aomine enters and finds Kuroko behind the door, staring up at him. He sighs in relief as he closes the door, grateful to see nothing had happened while he's gone. If Akashi truly is the devil, he's quite sure that no place is safe for this witness. 

Aomine takes Kuroko's hand and leads him back to his seat. He reaches for another smoke and takes a puff before pressing the record button again. 

"So, what happened with the heist?" 

 

_-o-_

_We planned to meet after lunch, around 2 p.m. at the diner where we first met._

_Kise-kun picked me up from the nursery after lunch and we headed straight to the diner and changed clothes. We had to look exactly like the security detail and Kise managed to score some suits from work. Midorima came 30 minutes later. A few minutes after, it was Murasakibara._

_Akashi didn't come but Midorima said he'll meet us at the warehouse. An hour after we met, we headed outside and Murasakibara handed out some guns._

_It's... been a while since I held one. I wasn't too keen on keeping it but Kise ensured that it was safer that way. "Just in case," he said._

_We took two separate cars. The pick up was with Midorima and Murasakibara. Kise and I were to drive behind them as a back up._

_The flight arrived at 6 and we picked up the person in the airport._

_-o-_

 

"Who was the guy?" Aomine asks as he leaned on his desk, his hand beside a tiger mug cum pencil holder, propping himself up. 

"Taiga. Taiga Kagami." Kuroko answers before meeting Aomine's gaze. 

"Do you know anything about the guy?" 

"He's tall." 

"Apart from the obvious." 

"He's a gangster with red hair and parted eyebrows and he's the guy with the 40 kilo coke." Aomine sighs at Kuroko's reply. Perhaps it was good that he didn't know more. The lesser he knew, the better. 

"And what happened after?" 

 

_-o-_

_I don't know much about what happened with Kagami-san. All I knew was we were stuck on a traffic in the expressway and we were an hour late for our intended meeting at the warehouse._

_By the time we pulled to the warehouse, Akashi was waiting inside. Actually, I wasn't sure back then. All I saw was the silhouette of his kimono. Akashi's the kind of man you can feel around you even if you can't see him._

_Kise got out of the car first and I was about to do the same until he told me to just to wait in the car. "Just in case." I was feeling uneasy, seeing Akashi move and hearing him talk in front of me. In a way, I wanted to avenge that day but I had to think twice, especially when this was Kise's ticket out of hell._

_They gathered around the first car and I can hear Akashi talking and negotiating with Kagami. They seem to be fine at first and things get heated. People I didn't know started coming in. Mostly thugs._

_I was about to step out of the car and check what's happening but Midorima came and told me to drive out and not return until they called back. I looked back at Kise and he approved with a nod._

_-o-_

 

"What time was that?" Aomine took his phone out to check his calls. 

"8:35 p.m." The time in his phone matched. "I drove out of the warehouse and called my lover." 

Somehow, that puts things into perspective. Aomine recalls clearly that unexpected phone call. 

_"Where are you?" Kuroko asked._

_"At home," he answered._

_"Wait for me," was the last reply._

He also recalls clearly that unexpected kiss that came as soon as he opened the door, lips quivering from what he thought was hunger. A kiss he welcomed nonetheless. Among other things he embraced that night

"You called your lover to tell him about the heist?" A bait to a lie. 

"No. I wanted to keep him out of it." Kuroko answers tersely as those empty eyes stare straight at him, unwavering. "It was my business to keep." 

It's these silent exchanges that makes Aomine waver. It's hard to read something as a truth or a lie especially when Kuroko is so constant. Unlike most that shake to pressure, Kuroko manages to keep a calm veneer even when he's most vulnerable. 

To Aomine, sometimes it's worrisome. 

He reaches for Kuroko's neck, placing his forefingers to the carotid, feeling his pulse against his fingertips. He rests his forehead on the other, meeting Kuroko's steady gaze, studying its movement as he asks him, "Why then did you head to your lover's place?" 

"I wanted to feel safe." Kuroko's breath was warm to his lips, remembering the voiced that gasped for it the night before. His pulse didn't skip. Nor did his eyes look away. Kuroko grips his other hand, much like last night, fingers lace with his, refusing to let go. 

"Then why did you leave?" Aomine whispers, almost brushing his lips against Kuroko's. 

"Kise called." 

 

_-o-_

_It was 1:45 when I received Kise's call. He said I should pick him up as soon as I can. Things weren't going well, he said._

_I didn't think twice. I just left my lover's place and did what I had to do: help Kise._

_I left few minutes after the call and drove straight to the warehouse. It must have been 2:30 when I arrived in the scene. By then, it was crazy. I heard shots left and right. I hurry towards the entrance but only saw the other car ablaze. I went straight to the back, taking the gun in tow. There were still shots exchanged before it became silent._

_I got inside and saw the mess. The place was ablaze. Kise was running for the door carrying a suitcase, probably the coke, when he gets shot in the shoulder. It was Akashi._

_Kise throws me aside and into the warehouse office. He locks me in from the outside and the rest I can only see from inside the plastic window._

_Kise cocked his shot gun and never gave up. Even when half his body was burning, he ran towards Akashi, shooting at him with every bullet of his shotgun. The shots rang in my ears and it was long before the only thing I can hear were the crackling of the wood and something heavy falling by the door._

_-o-_

 

"And then?" Aomine still kept his position -- forehead to Kuroko, fingers over his nerve. 

"I got my handkerchief and wet it with the water from the dispenser in the office and stayed there." 

"And you didn't call your lover." Another hook to bait. 

"It wasn't his mess to deal with." 

Aomine looks pained at his reply. He pulls his hands away, convinced of his partner's position in this story and where he stands in his life. 

"Aomine-kun, I-" The detective hushes his witness with a finger to his lips. He can sense Kuroko has many things to explain to him but it's not something for the recorders to hear. 

"What do you think happened?" Aomine asks tersely, lifting his finger away. 

"The deal went bust. Everyone died and the man I tried to save, saved me instead." 

"There was no coke in the warehouse." Aomine retorts, catching Kuroko's immediate attention. Another expression, more of surprise than fear. 

"You wanna know what I think?" Aomine adds, keeping Kuroko's attention. 

"I think there really was no cocaine. I think Kise set Akashi up along with Taiga Kagami." 

"What are you implying?" Kuroko's looks worried. 

"I'm saying Kise, for all his charms, used Akashi's name and put up this myth." 

"But the evidences--" 

"All point to an Akashi Seijuro but the runs always lead to a dead end. We've never caught him. We've never seen him since middle school." 

"I told you, he's the devil." Kuroko interjects. 

"Then maybe Kise is too." The detective makes a point. 

Aomine walks behind his desk, flipping a folder close. "Maybe Midorima and Murasakibara knew that Kise was going to throw Akashi over by giving his head on a plate." 

"He wouldn't do that." Kuroko interrupts. "Midorima's been planning--" 

"How long will you keep on defending Kise?" Aomine shouts back at Kuroko. "You said you saw Akashi and you had a gun with you but you didn't shoot him. I doubt it was because Akashi was there. It was because you saw Kise!"

"I was scared!" The only time Kuroko raised his voice. "How do you shoot the devil in the back?" 

Aomine doesn't answer. 

"You think a friend," Kuroko mutters through gritted teeth, "drags another friend to hell?" 

"I wouldn't put it beyond him." Aomine replies. 

"And what about me?" Kuroko asks. The detective turns off his recorder. 

"You're an exception." 

 

 

**9:15 p.m.**

Sakurai enters the meeting room, folders almost falling out of his arms. "Sorry," he says before taking the empty seat beside Aomine. 

Before them is a blackboard with faces of people both familiar and unknown to Aomine. He can at least recognize the  _old guys,_  and of course, right at the center was Seijuro Akashi. 

"So far all evidences show no sign of any drug bust or deals. The warehouse was clean and there was no suitcase in the area." Hasegawa clicks a button for his next slide showing stills from the airport. 

"Airport confirms the presence of a man that fits the description of whom our witness calls as Kagami Taiga. We assume he's taken a different name for his flight, but the statement holds that this person," he shows a close up of the same man heading towards two black sedans, "was indeed picked up by Akaishi Shuuichiro's team." 

"There are still some discrepancies but so far, based on evidences, the guilty one is whoever Akaishi Seijurou is." 

Sakurai raises his hand and says "Sorry but, do you really think he's still alive?" 

The room remains silent until Yoshinori hurriedly enters the room, catching his breath. "Midorima's awake." He puts his folder down on the table and handed its contents to all the officers in the room. "We tried to get a statement from him but he can't talk. The only thing he can do is write and blink his eyes. We gave him photos of Akashi and Kise for identification. But he shook his head when we asked him who Akashi Seijurou was. So we gave him a pen and he did this," he takes out the picture of Akashi where a lopsided character was written. 

"Kuro?" Sakurai reads. 

The whole room falls quiet. Aomine feels his fingers tremble. 

 

 

**10:22 p.m.**

"Do you remember that saying I told you earlier?" Kuroko Tetsuya greets Aomine as soon as he enters his apartment. The man sits across the door, arms slung over the couch with a pipe at the tip of his fingers. His empty eyes stop the detective's steps whose knees shook at the sight of his company. 

Kuroko stands up smiling, showing the light blue kimono that fades to grey and then to black. "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled," he slides his hand behind Aomine's neck, "was convincing the world that he did not exist." He pulls Aomine closer, biting the detective's lower lip before sliding his tongue inside the other's mouth. His tongue slithers to lure the other. And the other couldn't resist, taking his own bite of those lips. 

"You're real." Aomine murmurs in between a kiss. 

"If that's what you like to believe." Kuroko replies with the devil's grin. 

**Author's Note:**

> A reply to the prompt in kurokobasuanonmeme: [Dark/Evil! Kuroko](http://kurobasuanonmeme.tumblr.com/post/27875199339/dark-evil-kuroko). 
> 
> This is the oddest of birthday gifs to Ahomine, but when the idea for the prompt came in, I just couldn't resist writing. Especially when it hit me that Kuroko can make a fantastic Keyser Soze. <33
> 
> The fill's inspired by The Usual Suspects. I hope you'll catch it after reading this. OTL. If you read to the very end.


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